Fluid-entangled laminate webs having hollow projections and a process and apparatus for making the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a fluid-entangled laminate web and the process and apparatus for its formation as well as end uses for the fluid-entangled laminate web. The laminate web includes a support layer and a nonwoven projection web having a plurality of projections which are preferably hollow. As a result of the fluid-entangling process, entangling fluid is directed through the support layer and into the projection web which is situated on a forming surface. The force of the entangling fluid causes the two layers to be joined to one another and the fluid causes a portion of the fibers in the projection web to be forced into openings present in the forming surface thereby forming the hollow projections. The resultant laminate has a number of uses including, but not limited to, both wet and dry wiping materials, as well as incorporation into various portions of personal care absorbent articles and use in packaging especially food packaging where fluid control is an issue.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fibrous nonwoven web materials are in wide use in a number ofapplications including but not limited to absorbent structures andwiping products, many of which are disposable. In particular, suchmaterials are commonly used in personal care absorbent articles such asdiapers, diaper pants, training pants, feminine hygiene products, adultincontinence products, bandages and wiping products such as baby andadult wet wipes. They are also commonly used in cleaning products suchas wet and dry disposable wipes which may be treated with cleaning andother compounds which are designed to be used by hand or in conjunctionwith cleaning devices such as mops. Yet a further application is withbeauty aids such as cleansing and make-up removal pads and wipes.

In many of these applications, three-dimensionality and increasedsurface area are desirable attributes. This is particularly true withbody contacting materials for the aforementioned personal care absorbentarticles and cleaning products. One of the main functions of personalcare absorbent articles is to absorb and retain body exudates such asblood, menses, urine and bowel movements. By providing fibrous nonwovenswith hollow projections, several attributes can be achieved at the sametime. First, by providing projections, the overall laminate can be madeto have a higher degree of thickness while minimizing material used.Increased material thickness serves to enhance the separation of theskin of the user from the absorbent core, hence improving the prospectof drier skin. By providing projections, land areas are created betweenthe projections that can temporarily distance exudates from the highpoints of the projections while the exudates are being absorbed, thusreducing skin contact and providing better skin benefits. Second, byproviding such projections, the spread of exudates in the finishedproduct may be reduced, hence exposing less skin to contamination.Third, by providing projections, the hollows can, themselves, serve asfluid reservoirs to temporarily store body exudates and then later allowthe exudates to move vertically into subjacent layers of the overallproduct. Fourth, by reducing overall skin contact, the fibrous nonwovenlaminate with such projections can provide a softer feel to thecontacted skin thereby enhancing the tactile aesthetics of the layer andthe overall product. Fifth, when such materials are used as bodycontacting liner materials for products such as diapers, diaper pants,training pants, adult incontinence products and feminine hygieneproducts, the liner material also serves the function of acting as acleaning aid when the product is removed. This is especially the casewith menses and lower viscosity bowel movements as are commonlyencountered in conjunction with such products. Here again, suchmaterials can provide added benefit from a cleaning and containmentperspective.

In the context of cleaning products, again the projections can provideincreased overall surface area for collecting and containing materialremoved from the surface being cleaned. In addition, cleaning and othercompounds may be loaded into the hollow projections to store and thenupon use, release these cleaning and other compounds onto the surfacebeing cleaned. Other attempts have been made to provide fibrous nonwovenwebs which will provide the above-mentioned attributes and fulfill theabove-mentions tasks. One such approach has been the use of varioustypes of embossing to create three-dimensionality. This works to anextent, however high basis weights are required to create a structurewith significant topography. Furthermore, it is inherent in theembossing process that starting thickness is lost due to the fact thatembossing is, by its nature, a crushing and bonding process.Furthermore, to “set” the embossments in a nonwoven fabric the densifiedsections are typically fused to create weld points that are typicallyimpervious to fluid. Hence a part of the area for fluid to transitthrough the material is lost. Also, “setting” the fabric can cause thematerial to stiffen and become harsh to the touch.

Another approach to provide the above-mentioned attributes has been toform fibrous webs on three dimensional forming surfaces. The resultingstructures typically have little resilience at low basis weights(assuming soft fibers with desirable aesthetic attributes are used) andthe topography is significantly degraded when wound on a roll and putthrough subsequent converting processes. This is partly addressed in thethree dimensional forming process by allowing the three dimensionalshape to fill with fiber. However, this typically comes at a higher costdue to the usage of more material and at the cost of softness, as wellas the fact that the resultant material becomes aestheticallyunappealing for certain applications.

Another approach to provide the above-mentioned attributes has been toaperture a fibrous web. Depending on the process, this can generate aflat two dimensional web or a web with some three dimensionality wherethe displaced fiber is pushed out of the plane of the original web.Typically, the extent of the three-dimensionality is limited, and undersufficient load, the displaced fiber may be pushed back toward itsoriginal position resulting in at least partial closure of the aperture.Aperturing processes that attempt to “set” the displaced fiber outsidethe plane of the original web are also prone to degrading the softnessof the starting web. Another problem with apertured materials is thatwhen they are incorporated into end products as this is often done withthe use of adhesives, due to their open structure, adhesives will oftenreadily penetrate through the apertures in the nonwoven from itsunderside to its top, exposed surface, thereby creating unwanted issuessuch as adhesive build-up in the converting process or creatingunintended bonds between layers within the finished product. As aresult, there is a still a need for both a material and a process andapparatus which provide three-dimensional characteristics that meet theaforementioned needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to fluid-entangled laminates having afibrous nonwoven layer with projections which are preferably hollow andwhich extend from one surface of the laminate as well as the process andapparatus for making such laminates and their incorporation into endproducts.

The fluid-entangled laminate web according to the present invention,while capable of having other layers incorporated therein, includes asupport layer having opposed first and second surfaces and a thickness,and a nonwoven projection web comprising a plurality of fibers andhaving opposed inner and outer surfaces and a thickness. The secondsurface of the support layer contacts the inner surface of theprojection web and a first plurality of the fibers in the projection webform a plurality of projections which extend outwardly from the outersurface of the projection web. A second plurality of the fibers in theprojection web are entangled with the support layer to form theresultant fluid-entangled laminate web.

The projection web portion of the laminate with its projections providesa wide variety of attributes which make it suitable for a number of enduses. In preferred embodiments all or at least a portion of theprojections define hollow interiors.

The support layer can be made from a variety of materials including acontinuous fiber web such as a spunbond material or it can be made fromshorter fiber staple fiber webs. The projection web can also be madefrom both continuous fiber webs and staple fiber webs though it isdesirable for the projection web to have less fiber-to-fiber bonding orfiber entanglement than the support layer to facilitate formation of theprojections.

The support layer and the projection web each can be made at a varietyof basis weights depending upon the particular end use application. Aunique attribute of the laminate and the process is the ability to makelaminates at what are considered to be low basis weights forapplications including, but not limited to, personal care absorbentproducts and food packaging components. For example, fluid-entangledlaminates webs according to the present invention can have overall basisweights between about 25 and about 100 grams per square meter (gsm) andthe support layer can have a basis weight of between about 5 and about40 grams per square meter while the projection web can have a basisweight of between about 10 and about 60 grams per square meter. Suchbasis weight ranges are possible due to the manner in which the laminateis formed and the use of two different layers with different functionsrelative to the formation process. As a result, the laminates are ableto be made in commercial settings which heretofore were not consideredpossible due to the inability to process the individual webs and formthe desired projections.

The laminate web according to the present invention can be incorporatedinto absorbent articles for a wide variety of uses including, but notlimited to, diapers, diaper pants, training pants, incontinence devices,feminine hygiene products, bandages and wipes. Typically such productswill include a body side liner or skin-contacting material, agarment-facing material also referred to as a backsheet and an absorbentcore disposed between the body side liner and the backsheet. In thisregard, such absorbent articles can have at least one layer which ismade, at least in part, of the fluid-entangled laminate web of thepresent invention, including, but not limited to, one of the externalsurfaces of the absorbent article. If the external surface is the bodycontacting surface, the fluid entangled laminate web can be used aloneor in combination with other layers of absorbent material. In addition,the fluid-entangled laminate web may include hydrogel also known assuperabsorbent material, preferably in the support layer portion of thelaminate. If the laminate web is to be used as an external surface onthe garment side of the absorbent article, it may be desirable to attacha liquid impermeable layer such as a layer of film to the first orexterior surface of the support layer and position this liquidimpermeable layer to the inward side of the absorbent article so theprojections of the projection web are on the external side of theabsorbent article. This same type of configuration can also be used infood packaging to absorb fluids from the contents of the package.

It is also very common for such absorbent articles to have an optionallayer which is commonly referred to as a “surge” or “transfer” layerdisposed between the body side liner and the absorbent core. When suchproducts are in the form of, for example, diapers and adult incontinencedevices, they can also include what are termed “ears” located in thefront and/or back waist regions at the lateral sides of the products.These ears are used to secure the product about the torso of the wearer,typically in conjunction with adhesive and/or mechanical hook and loopfastening systems. In certain applications, the fastening systems areconnected to the distal ends of the ears and are attached to what isreferred to as a “frontal patch” or “tape landing zone” located on thefront waist portion of the product. The fluid-entangled laminate webaccording to the present invention may be used for all or a portion ofany one or more of these components and products.

When such absorbent articles are in the form of, for example, a trainingpant, diaper pant or other product which is designed to be pulled on andworn like underwear, such products will typically include what aretermed “side panels” joining the front and back waist regions of theproduct. Such side panels can include both elastic and non-elasticportions and the fluid-entangled laminate webs of the present inventioncan be used as all or a portion of these side panels as well.

Consequently, such absorbent articles can have at least one layer, allor a portion of which, comprises the fluid entangled laminate web of thepresent invention.

Also disclosed herein are a number of equipment configurations andprocesses for forming fluid-entangled laminate webs according to thepresent invention. One such process includes the process steps ofproviding a projection forming surface defining a plurality of formingholes therein with the forming holes being spaced apart from one anotherand having land areas therebetween. The projection forming surface iscapable of movement in a machine direction at a projection formingsurface speed. A projection fluid entangling device is also providedwhich has a plurality of projection fluid jets capable of emitting aplurality of pressurized projection fluid streams from the projectionfluid jets in a direction towards the projection forming surface.

A support layer having opposed first and second surfaces and a nonwovenprojection web having a plurality of fibers and opposed inner and outersurfaces are next provided. The projection web is fed onto theprojection forming surface with the outer surface of the projection webpositioned adjacent to the projection forming surface. The secondsurface of the support layer is fed onto the inner surface of theprojection web. A plurality of pressurized projection fluid streams ofthe entangling fluid from the plurality of projection fluid jets aredirected in a direction from the first surface of the support layertowards the projection forming surface to cause a) a first plurality ofthe fibers in the projection web in a vicinity of the forming holes inthe projection forming surface to be directed into the forming holes toform a plurality of projections extending outwardly from the outersurface of the projection web, and b) a second plurality of the fibersin the projection web to become entangled with the support layer to forma laminate web. This entanglement may be the result of the fibers of theprojection web entangling with the support layer or, when the supportlayer is a fibrous structure too, fibers of the support layer entanglingwith the fibers of the projection web or a combination of the twodescribed entanglement processes. In addition, the first and secondplurality of fibers in the projection web may be the same plurality offibers, especially when the projections are closely spaced as the samefibers, if of sufficient length, can both form the projections andentangle with the support layer.

Following the formation of the projections in the projection web and theattachment of the projection web with the support layer to form thelaminate web, the laminate web is removed from the projection formingsurface. In certain executions of the process and apparatus t it isdesirable that the direction of the plurality of fluid streams causesthe formation of projections which are hollow.

In a preferred design, the projection forming surface comprises atexturizing drum though it is also possible to form the forming surfacefrom a belt system or belt and wire system. In certain executions it isdesirable that the land areas of the projection forming surface not befluid permeable, in other situations they can be permeable, especiallywhen the forming surface is a porous forming wire. If desired, theforming surface can be formed with raised areas in addition to the holesso as to form depressions and/or apertures in the land areas of thefluid-entangled laminate web according to the present invention.

In alternate executions of the equipment, the projection web and/or thesupport layer can be fed into the projection forming process at the samespeed as the projection forming surface is moving or at a faster orslower rate. In certain executions of the process, it is desirable thatthe projection web be fed onto the projection forming surface at a speedwhich is greater than a speed the support layer is fed onto theprojection web. In other situations, it may be desirable to feed boththe projection web and the support layer onto the projection formingsurface at a speed which is greater than the speed of the projectionforming surface. It has been found that overfeeding material into theprocess provides additional fibrous structure within the projection webfor formation of the projections. The rate at which the material is fedinto the process is called the overfeed ratio. It has been found thatparticularly well-formed projections can be made when the overfeed ratiois between about 10 and about 50 percent meaning that the speed at whichthe material is fed into the process and apparatus is between about 10percent and about 50 percent faster than the speed of the projectionforming surface. This is particularly advantageous with respect to theoverfeeding of the projection web into the process and apparatus.

In an alternate form of the process and equipment, a pre-lamination stepis provided in advance of the projection forming step. In thisembodiment, the equipment and process are provided with a laminationforming surface which is permeable to fluids. The lamination formingsurface is capable of movement in a machine direction at a laminationforming speed. As with the other embodiment of the process andequipment, a projection forming surface is provided which defines aplurality of forming holes therein with the forming holes being spacedapart from one another and having land areas therebetween. Theprojection forming surface is also capable of movement in the machinedirection at a projection forming surface speed. The equipment andprocess also include a lamination fluid entangling device having aplurality of lamination fluid jets capable of emitting a plurality ofpressurized lamination fluid streams of entangling fluid from thelamination fluid jets in a direction towards the lamination formingsurface and a projection fluid entangling device having a plurality ofprojection fluid jets capable of emitting a plurality of pressurizedprojection fluid streams of an entangling fluid from the projectionfluid jets in a direction towards the projection forming surface. Aswith the other process and equipment, a support layer having opposedfirst and second surfaces and a projection web having a plurality offibers and opposed inner and outer surfaces are next provided. Thesupport layer and the projection web are fed onto the lamination formingsurface at which point a plurality of pressurized lamination fluidstreams of entangling fluid are directed from the plurality oflamination fluid jets into the support layer and the projection web tocause at least a portion of the fibers from the projection web to becomeentangled with the support layer to form a laminate web.

After the laminate web is formed, it is fed onto the projection formingsurface with the outer surface of the projection web being adjacent theprojection forming surface. Next a plurality of pressurized projectionfluid streams of the entangling fluid from the plurality of projectionfluid jets are directed into the laminate web in a direction from thefirst surface of the support layer towards the projection formingsurface to cause a first plurality of the fibers in the projection webin a vicinity of the forming holes in the projection forming surface tobe directed into the forming holes to form a plurality of projectionsextending outwardly from the outer surface of the projection web. Thethus formed fluid-entangled laminate web is then removed from theprojection forming surface.

In the process which employs a lamination step prior to the projectionforming step, the lamination may take place with either the supportlayer being the layer which is in direct contact with the laminationforming surface or with the projection web being in direct contact withthe lamination forming surface. When the support layer is fed onto thelamination forming surface, its first surface will be adjacent thelamination forming surface and so the inner surface of the projectionweb is thus fed onto the second surface of the support layer. As aresult, the plurality of pressurized lamination fluid streams ofentangling fluid emanating from the pressurized lamination fluid jetsare directed from the outer surface of the projection web towards thelamination forming surface to cause at least a portion of the fibersfrom the projection web to become entangled with the support layer toform the laminate web.

As with the first process, the projection forming surface may comprise atexturizing drum and in certain applications it is desirable that theland areas of the projection forming surface not be fluid permeablerelative to the entangling fluid being used. It is also desirable thatthe plurality of pressurized projection fluid streams cause theformation of projections which are hollow. In addition, the projectionweb can be fed onto the support layer at a speed that is greater thanthe speed the support layer is fed onto the lamination forming surface.Alternatively, both the projection web and the support layer can be fedonto the lamination forming surface at a speed that is greater than thelamination forming surface speed. The overfeed ratio for the materialbeing fed into the lamination forming portion of the process can bebetween about 10 and about 50 percent. Once the laminate web has beenformed, it can be fed onto the projection forming surface at a speedthat is greater than the projection forming surface speed.

In some applications, it may be desirable that the projections haveadditional rigidity and abrasion resistance such as when the laminateweb is used as a cleansing pad or where the projections and the overalllaminate will see more vertical compressive forces. In such situations,it may be desirable to form the projection web with fibers which areable to bond or be bonded to one another such as by the use, forexample, of bicomponent fibers. Alternatively or in addition thereto,chemical bonding such as through the use of acrylic resins can be usedto bond the fibers together. In such situations, the laminate web may besubjected to further processing such as a bonding step wherein the newlyformed laminate is subjected to a heating or other non-compressivebonding process which fuses all or a portion of the fibers in theprojections and, if desired, in the surrounding areas together to givethe laminate more structural rigidity.

These and other embodiments of the present invention are set forth infurther detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof is set forth more particularly in the remainder of thespecification, which includes reference to the accompanying figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a fluid entangledlaminate web according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the material shown in FIG. 1 taken alongline 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the material according to thepresent invention taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing possibledirections of fiber movements within the laminate due to thefluid-entanglement process according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an apparatus and process according tothe present invention for forming a fluid-entangled laminate webaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is an exploded view of a representative portion of a projectionforming surface according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an alternate apparatus and processaccording to the present invention for forming a fluid-entangledlaminate web according to the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a schematic side view of an alternate apparatus and processaccording to the present invention for forming a fluid-entangledlaminate web according to the present invention which is an adaptationof the apparatus and process shown in FIG. 4 as well as subsequent FIGS.5 and 7.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of an alternate apparatus and processaccording to the present invention for forming a fluid-entangledlaminate web according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of an alternate apparatus and processaccording to the present invention for forming a fluid-entangledlaminate web according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of an alternate apparatus and processaccording to the present invention for forming a fluid-entangledlaminate web according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a photomicrograph at a 45 degree angle showing a fluidentangled laminate web according to the present invention.

FIGS. 9 and 9A are photomicrographs showing in cross-section a fluidentangled laminate web according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective cutaway view of an absorbent article in which afluid-entangled laminate web according to the present invention can beused.

FIG. 11 is a graph depicting fabric thickness as a function of theoverfeed ratio of the projection web into the forming process.

FIG. 12 is a graph depicting fabric extension at a 10N load as afunction of the overfeed ratio of the projection web into the formingprocess for both laminates according to the present invention andunsupported projection webs.

FIG. 13 is a graph depicting the load in Newtons per 50 millimeterswidth as a function of the percent extension comparing both a laminateaccording to the present invention and unsupported projection web.

FIG. 14 is a graph depicting the load in Newtons per 50 mm width as afunction of the percent strain for a series of laminates according tothe present invention while varying the overfeed ratio.

FIG. 15 is a graph depicting the load in Newtons per 50 mm width as afunction of the percent extension for a series of 45 gsm projection webswhile varying the overfeed ratio.

FIG. 16 is a photo in top view of a sample designated as code 3-6 inTable 1 of the specification.

FIG. 16A is a photo of a sample designated as code 3-6 in Table 1 of thespecification taken at a 45 degree angle.

FIG. 17 is a photo in top view of a sample designated as code 5-3 inTable 1 of the specification.

FIG. 17A is a photo of a sample designated as code 5-3 in Table 1 of thespecification taken at a 45 degree angle.

FIG. 18 is a photo showing the juxtaposition of a portion of a fabricwith and without a support layer backing the projection web having beenprocessed simultaneously on the same machine.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features orelements of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Definitions

As used herein the term “nonwoven fabric or web” refers to a web havinga structure of individual fibers, filaments or threads (collectivelyreferred to as “fibers” for sake of simplicity) which are interlaid, butnot in an identifiable manner as in a knitted fabric. Nonwoven fabricsor webs have been formed from many processes such as for example,meltblowing processes, spunbonding processes, carded web processes, etc.

As used herein, the term “meltblown web” generally refers to a nonwovenweb that is formed by a process in which a molten thermoplastic materialis extruded through a plurality of fine, usually circular, diecapillaries as molten fibers into converging high velocity gas (e.g.air) streams that attenuate the fibers of molten thermoplastic materialto reduce their diameter, which may be to microfiber diameter.Thereafter, the meltblown fibers are carried by the high velocity gasstream and are deposited on a collecting surface to form a web ofrandomly disbursed meltblown fibers. Such a process is disclosed, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241 to Butin, et al., which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto for allpurposes. Generally speaking, meltblown fibers may be microfibers thatare substantially continuous or discontinuous, generally smaller than 10microns in diameter, and generally tacky when deposited onto acollecting surface.

As used herein, the term “spunbond web” generally refers to a webcontaining small diameter substantially continuous fibers. The fibersare formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material from a pluralityof fine, usually circular, capillaries of a spinnerette with thediameter of the extruded fibers then being rapidly reduced as by, forexample, eductive drawing and/or other well-known spunbondingmechanisms. The production of spunbond webs is described andillustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,563 to Appel, et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618 to Dorschner, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,817 toMatsuki, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,992 to Kinney, U.S. Pat. No.3,341,394 to Kinney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,763 to Hartman, U.S. Pat. No.3,502,538 to Levy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,615 to Dobo, et al., and U.S.Pat. No. 5,382,400 to Pike, et al., which are incorporated herein intheir entirety by reference thereto for all purposes. Spunbond fibersare generally not tacky when they are deposited onto a collectingsurface. Spunbond fibers may sometimes have diameters less than about 40microns, and are often between about 5 to about 20 microns. To provideadditional web integrity the webs so formed can be subjected toadditional fiber bonding techniques if so desired. See for example, U.S.Pat. No. 3,855,046 to Hansen et al., which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference thereto for all purposes.

As used herein, the term “carded web” generally refers to a webcontaining natural or synthetic staple length fibers typically havingfiber lengths less than 100 millimeters. Bales of staple fibers undergoan opening process to separate the fibers which are then sent to acarding process which separates and combs the fibers to align them inthe machine direction after which the fibers are deposited onto a movingwire for further processing. Such webs usually are subjected to sometype of bonding process such as thermal bonding using heat and/orpressure. In addition or in lieu thereof, the fibers may be subject toadhesive processes to bind the fibers together such as by the use ofpowder adhesives. Still further, the carded web may be subjected tofluid entangling such as hydroentangling to further intertwine thefibers and thereby improve the integrity of the carded web. Carded websdue to the fiber alignment in the machine direction, once bonded, willtypically have more machine direction strength than cross machinedirection strength.

As used herein, the term “fluid entangling” and “fluid-entangled”generally refers to a formation process for further increasing thedegree of fiber entanglement within a given fibrous nonwoven web orbetween fibrous nonwoven webs and other materials so as to make theseparation of the individual fibers and/or the layers more difficult asa result of the entanglement. Generally this is accomplished bysupporting the fibrous nonwoven web on some type of forming or carriersurface which has at least some degree of permeability to the impingingpressurized fluid. A pressurized fluid stream (usually multiple streams)is then directed against the surface of the nonwoven web which isopposite the supported surface of the web. The pressurized fluidcontacts the fibers and forces portions of the fibers in the directionof the fluid flow thus displacing all or a portion of a plurality of thefibers towards the supported surface of the web. The result is a furtherentanglement of the fibers in what can be termed the Z-direction of theweb (its thickness) relative to its more planar dimension, its X-Yplane. When two or more separate webs or other layers are placedadjacent one another on the forming/carrier surface and subjected to thepressurized fluid, the generally desired result is that some of thefibers of at least one of the webs are forced into the adjacent web orlayer thereby causing fiber entanglement between the interfaces of thetwo surfaces so as to result in the bonding or joining of thewebs/layers together due to the increased entanglement of the fibers.The degree of bonding or entanglement will depend on a number of factorsincluding, but not limited to, the types of fibers being used, theirfiber lengths, the degree of pre-bonding or entanglement of the web orwebs prior to subjection to the fluid entangling process, the type offluid being used (liquids, such as water, steam or gases, such as air),the pressure of the fluid, the number of fluid streams, the speed of theprocess, the dwell time of the fluid and the porosity of the web orwebs/other layers and the forming/carrier surface. One of the mostcommon fluid entangling processes is referred to as hydroentanglingwhich is a well-known process to those of ordinary skill in the art ofnonwoven webs. Examples of fluid entangling process can be found in U.S.Pat. No. 4,939,016 to Radwanski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,706 toEvans, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,970,104 and 4,959,531 to Radwanski, each ofwhich is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto forall purposes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference now will be made to the embodiments of the invention, one ormore examples of which are set forth below. Each example is provided byway of an explanation of the invention, not as a limitation of theinvention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications and variations can be made in the inventionwithout departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Forinstance, features illustrated or described as one embodiment can beused on another embodiment to yield still a further embodiment. Thus, itis intended that the present invention cover such modifications andvariations as come within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents. When ranges for parameters are given, it is intended thateach of the endpoints of the range are also included within the givenrange. It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art thatthe present discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only,and is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentinvention, which broader aspects are embodied exemplary constructions.

Fluid-Entangled Laminate Web with Projections

The result of the processes and apparatus described herein is thegeneration of a fluid-entangled laminate web with projections extendingoutwardly and away from at least one intended external surface of thelaminate. In preferred embodiments the projections are hollow. Anembodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 2A, 8, 9 and9A of the drawings. A fluid-entangled laminate web 10 is shown withprojections 12 which for many applications are desirably hollow. The web10 includes a support layer 14 (which in FIGS. 1, 2 and 2A is shown as afibrous nonwoven support web 14) and a fibrous nonwoven projection web16. The support layer 14 has a first surface 18 and an opposed secondsurface 20 as well as a thickness 22. The projection web 16 has an innersurface 24 and an opposed outer surface 26 as well as a thickness 28.The interface between the support layer 14 and the projection web 16 isshown by reference number 27 and it is desirable that the fibers of theprojection web 16 cross the interface 27 and be entangled with andengage the support layer 14 so as to form the laminate 10. When thesupport layer or web 14 is a fibrous nonwoven too, the fibers of thislayer may cross the interface 27 and be entangled with the fibers in theprojection web 16. The overall laminate 10 is referred to as afluid-entangled laminate web due to the fibrous nature of the projectionweb 16 portion of the laminate 10 while it is understood that thesupport layer 14 is referred to as a layer as it may comprise fibrousweb material such as nonwoven material but it also may comprise orinclude other materials such as, for example, films, scrims and foams.Generally for the end-use applications outlined herein, basis weightsfor the fluid-entangled laminate web 10 will range between about 25 andabout 100 gsm though basis weights outside this range may be useddepending upon the particular end-use application.

Hollow Projections

While the projections 12 can be filled with fibers from the projectionweb 16 and/or the support layer 14, it is generally desirable for theprojections 12 to be generally hollow, especially when such laminates 10are being used in connection with absorbent structures. The hollowprojections 12 desirably have closed ends 13 which are devoid of holesor apertures. Such holes or apertures are to be distinguished from thenormal interstitial fiber-to-fiber spacing commonly found in fibrousnonwoven webs. In some applications, however, it may be desirable toincrease the pressure and/or dwell time of the impinging fluid jets inthe entangling process as described below to create one or more holes orapertures (not shown) in one or more of the hollow projections 12. Suchapertures may be formed in the ends 13 or side walls 11 of theprojections 12 as well as in both the ends 13 and side walls 11 of theprojections 12.

The hollow projections 12 shown in the Figures are round when viewedfrom above with somewhat domed or curved tops or ends 13 as seen whenviewed in the cross-section. The actual shape of the projections 12 canbe varied depending on the shape of the forming surface into which thefibers from the projection web 16 are forced. Thus, while not limitingthe variations, the shapes of the projections 12 may be, for example,round, oval, square, rectangular, triangular, diamond-shaped, etc. Boththe width and depth of the hollow projections 12 can be varied as can bethe spacing and pattern of the projections 12. Further, various shapes,sizes and spacing of the projections 12 can be utilized in the sameprojection web 16.

The projections 12 in the laminate web 10 are located on and emanatefrom the outer surface 26 of the projection web 16. When the projections12 are hollow, they will have open ends 15 which are located towards theinner surface 24 of the projection web 16 and are covered by the secondsurface 20 of the support layer or web 14 or the inner surface 24 of theprojection web 16 depending upon the amount of fiber that has been usedfrom the projection web 16 to form the projections 12. The projections12 are surrounded by land areas 19 which are also formed from the outersurface 26 of the projection web 16 though the thickness of the landareas 19 is comprised of both the projection web 16 and the supportlayer 14. This land area 19 may be relatively flat and planar as shownin FIG. 1 or it may have topographical variability built into it. Forexample, the land area 19 may have a plurality of three-dimensionalshapes formed into it by forming the projection web 16 on athree-dimensionally-shaped forming surface such as is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,741,941 to Englebert et al. assigned to Kimberly-ClarkWorldwide and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes. For example, the land areas 19 may be provided withdepressions 23 which extend all or part way into the projection web 16and/or the support layer 14. In addition, the land areas 19 may besubjected to embossing which can impart surface texture and otherfunctional attributes to the land area 19. Still further, the land areas19 and the laminate 10 as a whole may be provided with apertures 25which extend through the laminate 10 so as to further facilitate themovement of fluids (such as the liquids and solids that make up bodyexudates) into and through the laminate 10. As a result of the fluidentanglement processes described herein, it is generally not desirablethat the fluid pressure used to form the projections 12 be of sufficientforce so as to force fibers from the support layer 14 to be exposed onthe outer surface 26 of the projection web 16.

While it is possible to vary the density and fiber content of theprojections 12, it is generally desirable that the projections 12 be“hollow”. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 9A, it can be seen that when theprojections 12 are hollow, they tend to form a shell 17 from the fibersof the projection web 16. The shell 17 defines an interior hollow space21 which has a lower density of fibers as compared to the density of theshell 17 of the projections 12. By “density” it is meant the fiber countor content per chosen unit of volume within a portion of the interiorhollow space 21 or the shell 17 of the projection 12. The thickness ofthe shell 17 as well as its density may vary within a particular orindividual projection 12 and it also may vary as between differentprojections 12. In addition, the size of the hollow interior space 21 aswell as its density may vary within a particular or individualprojection 12 and it also may vary as between different projections 12.The photomicrographs of FIGS. 9 and 9A reveals a lower density or countof fibers in the interior hollow space 21 as compared to the shellportion 17 of the illustrated projection 12. As a result, if there is atleast some portion of an interior hollow space 21 of a projection 12that has a lower fiber density than at least some portion of the shell17 of the same projection 12, then the projection is regarded as being“hollow”. In this regard, in some situations, there may not be awell-defined demarcation between the shell 17 and the interior hollowspace 21 but, if with sufficient magnification of a cross-section of oneof the projections, it can be seen that at least some portion of theinterior hollow space 21 of the projection 12 has a lower density thansome portion of the shell 17 of the same projection 12, then theprojection 12 is regarded as being “hollow”. Further if at least aportion of the projections 12 of a fluid-entangled laminate web 10 arehollow, the projection web 16 and the laminate 10 are regarded as being“hollow” or as having “hollow projections”. Typically the portion of theprojections 12 which are hollow will be greater than or equal to 50percent of the projections 12 in a chosen area of the fluid-entangledlaminate web 10, alternatively greater than or equal to 70 percent ofthe projections in a chosen area of the fluid-entangled laminate web 10and alternatively greater than or equal to 90 percent of the projections10 in a chosen area of the fluid entangled laminate web 10.

As will become more apparent in connection with the description of theprocesses set forth below, the fluid-entangled laminate web 10 is theresult of the movement of the fibers in the projection web 16 in one andsometimes two or more directions. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 3A, if theprojection forming surface 130 upon which the projection web 16 isplaced is solid except for the forming holes or apertures 134 used toform the hollow projections 12, then the force of the fluid entanglingstreams hitting and rebounding off the solid surface area 136 of theprojection forming surface 130 corresponding to the land areas 19 of theprojection web 16 can cause a migration of fibers adjacent the innersurface 24 of the projection web 16 into the support layer 14 adjacentits second surface 20. This migration of fibers in the first directionis represented by the arrows 30 shown in FIG. 2A. In order to form thehollow projections 12 extending outwardly from the outer surface 26 ofthe projection web 16, there must be a migration of fibers in a seconddirection as shown by the arrows 32. It is this migration in the seconddirection which causes fibers from the projection web 16 to move out andaway from the outer surface 26 to form the hollow projections 12.

When the support layer 14 is a fibrous nonwoven web, depending on thedegree of web integrity and the strength and dwell time of theentangling fluid from the pressurized fluid jets, there also may be amovement of support web fibers into the projection web 16 as shown byarrows 31 in FIG. 2A. The net result of these fiber movements is thecreation of a laminate 10 with good overall integrity and lamination ofthe layer and web (14 and 16) at their interface 27 thereby permittingfurther processing and handling of the laminate 10.

Support Layer and Projection Web

As the name implies, the support layer 14 is meant to support theprojection web 16 containing the projections 12. The support layer 14can be made from a number of structures provided the support layer 14 iscapable of supporting the projection web 16. The primary functions ofthe support layer 14 are to protect the projection web 16 during theformation of the projections 12, to be able to bond to or be entangledwith the projection web 16 and to aid in the further processing of theprojection web 16 and the resultant fluid-entangled laminate web 10.Suitable materials for the support layer 14 can include, but are notlimited to, nonwoven fabrics or webs, scrim materials, nettingmaterials, paper/cellulose/wood pulp-based products which can beconsidered a subset of nonwoven fabrics or webs as well as foammaterials, films and combinations of the foregoing provided the materialor materials chosen are capable of withstanding the fluid-entanglingprocess. A particularly well-suited material for the support layer 14 isa fibrous nonwoven web made from a plurality of randomly depositedfibers which may be staple length fibers such as are used, for example,in carded webs, air laid webs, etc. or they may be more continuousfibers such as are found in, for example, meltblown or spunbond webs.Due to the functions the support layer 14 must perform, the supportlayer 14 should have a higher degree of integrity than the projectionweb 16. In this regard, the support layer 14 should be able to remainsubstantially intact when it is subjected to the fluid-entanglingprocess discussed in greater detail below. The degree of integrity ofthe support layer 14 should be such that the material forming thesupport layer 14 resists being driven down into and filling the hollowprojections 14 of the projection web 16. As a result, when the supportlayer 14 is a fibrous nonwoven web, it is desirable that it should havea higher degree of fiber-to-fiber bonding and/or fiber entanglement thanthe fibers in the projection web 16. While it is desirable to havefibers from the support layer 14 entangle with the fibers of theprojection web 16 adjacent the interface 27 between the two layers, itis generally desired that the fibers of this support layer 14 not beintegrated or entangled into the projection web 16 to such a degree thatlarge portions of these fibers find their way inside the hollowprojections 12.

A function of the support layer 14 is to facilitate further processingof the projection web 16. Typically the fibers used to form theprojection web 16 are more expensive than those used to form the supportlayer 14. As a result, it is desirable to keep the basis weight of theprojection web 16 low. In so doing, however, it becomes difficult toprocess the projection web 16 subsequent to its formation. By attachingthe projection web 16 to an underlying support layer 14, furtherprocessing, winding and unwinding, storage and other activities can bedone more effectively.

In order to resist this higher degree of fiber movement, as mentionedabove, it is desirable that the support layer 14 have a higher degree ofintegrity than the projection web 16. This higher degree of integritycan be brought about in a number of ways. One is fiber-to-fiber bondingwhich can be achieved through thermal or ultrasonic bonding of thefibers to one another with or without the use of pressure as in throughair bonding, point bonding, powder bonding, chemical bonding, adhesivebonding, embossing, calender bonding, etc. In addition, other materialsmay be added to the fibrous mix such as adhesives and/or bicomponentfibers. Pre-entanglement of the fibrous nonwoven support layer 14 mayalso be used such as, for example, by subjecting the web tohydroentangling, needle punching, etc. prior to this web 14 being joinedto the projection web 16. Combinations of the foregoing are alsopossible. Still other materials such as foams, scrims and nettings mayhave enough initial integrity so as to not need further processing. Thelevel of integrity can in many cases be visually observed due to, forexample, the observation with the unaided eye of such techniques aspoint bonding which is commonly used with fibrous nonwoven webs such asspunbond webs and staple fiber-containing webs. Further magnification ofthe support layer 14 may also reveal the use of fluid-entangling or theuse of thermal and/or adhesive bonding to join the fibers together.Depending on whether samples of the individual layers (14 and 16) areavailable, tensile testing in either or both of the machine andcross-machine directions may be undertaken to compare the integrity ofthe support layer 14 to the projection web 16. See for example ASTM testD5035-11 which is incorporated herein its entirety for all purposes.

The type, basis weight, strength and other properties of the supportlayer 14 can be chosen and varied depending upon the particular end useof the resultant laminate 10. When the laminate 10 is to be used as partof an absorbent article such as a personal care absorbent article, wipe,etc., it is generally desirable that the support layer 14 be a layerthat is fluid pervious, has good wet and dry strength, is able to absorbfluids such as body exudates, possibly retain the fluids for a certainperiod of time and then release the fluids to one or more subjacentlayers. In this regard, fibrous nonwovens such as spunbond webs,meltblown webs and carded webs such as airlaid webs, bonded carded websand coform materials are particularly well-suited as support layers 14.Foam materials and scrim materials are also well-suited. In addition,the support layer 14 may be a multi-layered material due to the use ofseveral layers or the use of multi-bank formation processes as arecommonly used in making spunbond webs and meltblown webs as well aslayered combinations of meltblown and spunbond webs. In the formation ofsuch support layers 14, both natural and synthetic materials may be usedalone or in combination to fabricate the material. Generally for theend-use applications outlined herein, support layer 14 basis weightswill range between about 5 and about 40 gsm though basis weights outsidethis range may be used depending upon the particular end-useapplication.

The type, basis weight and porosity of the support web 14 will affectthe process conditions necessary to form the projections 12 in theprojection web 16. Heavier basis weight materials will increase theentangling force of the entangling fluid streams needed to form theprojections 12 in the projection web 16. However, heavier basis weightsupport layers 14 will also provide improved support for the projectionweb 16 as a major problem with the projection web 16 by itself is thatit is too stretchy to maintain the shape of the projections 12 post theformation process. The projection web 16 by itself unduly elongates inthe machine direction due to the mechanical forces exerted on it bysubsequent winding and converting processes which diminish and distortthe projections 12. Also, without the support layer 14, the projections12 in the projection web 16 collapse due to the winding pressures andcompressive weights the projection web 16 experiences in the windingprocess and subsequent conversion and do not recover to the extent theydo with the support layer 14.

The support layer 14 may be subjected to further treatment and/oradditives to alter or enhance its properties. For example, surfactantsand other chemicals may be added both internally and externally to thecomponents forming all or a portion of the support layer 14 to alter orenhance its properties. Compounds commonly referred to as hydrogels orsuperabsorbents which absorb many times their weight in liquids may beadded to the support layer 14 in both particulate and fiber form.

The projection web 16 is made from a plurality of randomly depositedfibers which may be staple length fibers such as those that are used,for example, in carded webs, airlaid webs, coform webs, etc. or they maybe more continuous fibers such as those that are found in, for example,meltblown or spunbond webs. The fibers in the projection web 16desirably should have less fiber-to-fiber bonding and/or fiberentanglement and thus less integrity as compared to the integrity of thesupport layer 14, especially when the support layer 14 is a fibrousnonwoven web. The fibers in the projection web 16 may have no initialfiber-to-fiber bonding for purposes of allowing the formation of thehollow projections 12 as will be explained in further detail below inconnection with the description of one or more of the embodiments of theprocess and apparatus for forming the fluid-entangled laminate web 10.Alternatively, when both the support layer 14 and the projection web 16are both fibrous nonwoven webs, the projection web 16 will have lessintegrity than the support web 14 due to the projection web 16 having,for example, less fiber-to-fiber bonding, less adhesive or lesspre-entanglement of the fibers forming the web 16.

The projection web 16 must have a sufficient amount of fiber movementcapability to allow the below-described fluid entangling process to beable to move fibers of the projection web 16 out of the X-Y plane of theprojection web 16 as shown in FIG. 1 and into the perpendicular orZ-direction (the direction of its thickness 28) of the web 16 so as tobe able to form the hollow projections 12. If more continuous fiberstructures are being used such as meltblown or spunbond webs, it isdesirable to have little or no pre-bonding of the projection web 16prior to the fluid entanglement process. Longer fibers such as aregenerated in meltblowing and spunbonding processes (which are oftenreferred to as continuous fibers to differentiate them from staplelength fibers) will typically require more force to displace the fibersin the Z-direction than will shorter, staple length fibers thattypically have fiber lengths less than 100 millimeters (mm) and moretypically fiber lengths in the 10 to 60 mm range. Conversely, staplefiber webs such as carded webs and airlaid webs can have some degree ofpre-bonding or entanglement of the fibers due to their shorter length.Such shorter fibers require less fluid force from the fluid entanglingstreams to move them in the Z-direction to form the hollow projections12. As a result, a balance must be met between fiber length, degree ofpre-fiber bonding, fluid force, web speed and dwell time so as to beable to create the hollow projections 12 without, unless desired,forming apertures in the land areas 19, the hollow projections 12, orforcing too much material into the interior hollow space 21 of theprojections 12 thereby making the projections 12 too rigid for someend-use applications.

Generally, the projection web 16 will have a basis weight rangingbetween about 10 and about 60 gsm for the uses outlined herein but basisweights outside this range may be used depending upon the particularend-use application. Spunbond webs will typically have basis weights ofbetween about 15 and about 50 grams per square meter (gsm) when beingused as the projection web 16. Fiber diameters will range between about5 and about 20 microns. The fibers may be single component fibers formedfrom a single polymer composition or they may be bicomponent ormulticomponent fibers wherein one portion of the fiber has a lowermelting point than the other components so as to allow fiber-to-fiberbonding through the use of heat and/or pressure. Hollow fibers may alsobe used. The fibers may be formed from any polymer formulationstypically used to form spunbond webs. Examples of such polymers include,but are not limited to, polypropylene (PP), polyester (PET), polyamide(PA), polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA). The spunbond webs maybe subjected to post-formation bonding and entangling techniques ifnecessary to improve the processability of the web prior to it beingsubjected to the projection forming process.

Meltblown webs will typically have basis weights of between about 20 andabout 50 grams per square meter (gsm) when being used as the projectionweb 16. Fiber diameters will range between about 0.5 and about 5microns. The fibers may be single component fibers formed from a singlepolymer composition or they may be bicomponent or multicomponent fiberswherein one portion of the fiber has a lower melting point than theother components so as to allow fiber-to-fiber bonding through the useof heat and/or pressure. The fibers may be formed from any polymerformulations typically used to form the aforementioned spunbond webs.Examples of such polymers include, but are not limited to, PP, PET, PA,PE and PLA. Carded and airlaid webs use staple fibers that willtypically range in length between about 10 and about 100 millimeters.Fiber denier will range between about 0.5 and about 6 denier dependingupon the particular end use. Basis weights will range between about 20and about 60 gsm. The staple fibers may be made from a wide variety ofpolymers including, but not limited to, PP, PET, PA, PLA, cotton, rayonflax, wool, hemp and regenerated cellulose such as, for example,viscose. Blends of fibers may be utilized too such as blends ofbicomponent fibers and single component fibers as well as blends ofsolid fibers and hollow fibers. If bonding is desired, it may beaccomplished in a number of ways including, for example, through-airbonding, calender bonding, point bonding, chemical bonding and adhesivebonding such as powder bonding. If needed, to further enhance theintegrity and processability of such webs prior to the projectionforming process, they may be subjected to pre-entanglement processes toincrease fiber entanglement within the projection web 16 prior to theformation of the projections 12. Hydroentangling is particularlyadvantageous in this regard.

While the foregoing nonwoven web types and formation processes aresuitable for use in conjunction with the projection web 16, it isanticipated that other webs and formation processes may also be usedprovided the webs are capable of forming the hollow projections 12.

Process Description

To form the materials according to the present invention, a fluidentangling process must be employed. Any number of fluids may be used tojoin the support layer 14 and projection web 16 together, including bothliquids and gases. The most common technology used in this regard isreferred to as spunlace or hydroentangling technology which usespressurized water as the fluid for entanglement.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown a first embodiment of a process andapparatus 100 for forming a fluid-entangled laminate web 10 with hollowprojections 12 according to the present invention. The apparatus 100includes a first transport belt 110, a transport belt drive roll 120, aprojection forming surface 130, a fluid entangling device 140, anoptional overfeed roll 150, and a fluid removal system 160 such as avacuum or other conventional suction device. Such vacuum devices andother means are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thetransport belt 110 is used to carry the projection web 16 into theapparatus 100. If any pre-entangling is to be done on the projection web16 upstream of the process shown in FIG. 3, the transport belt 110 maybe porous. The transport belt 110 travels in a first direction (which isthe machine direction) as shown by arrow 112 at a first speed orvelocity V1. The transport belt 110 can be driven by the transport beltdrive roller 120 or other suitable means as are well known to those ofordinary skill in the art.

The projection forming surface 130 as shown in FIG. 3 is in the form ofa texturizing drum 130, a partially exploded view of the surface whichis shown in FIG. 3A. The projection forming surface 130 moves in themachine direction as shown by arrow 131 in FIG. 3 at a speed or velocityV3. It is driven and its speed controlled by any suitable drive means(not shown) such as electric motors and gearing as are well known tothose of ordinary skill in the art. The texturing drum 130 depicted inFIGS. 3 and 3A consists of a forming surface 132 containing a pattern offorming holes 134 that correspond to the shape and pattern of thedesired projections 12 in the projection web 16. The forming holes 134are separated by a land area 136. The forming holes 134 can be of anyshape and any pattern. As can be seen from the Figures depicting thelaminates 10 according to the present invention, the hole shapes areround but it should be understood that any number of shapes andcombination of shapes can be used depending on the end use application.Examples of possible hole shapes include, but are not limited to, ovals,crosses, squares, rectangles, diamond shapes, hexagons and otherpolygons. Such shapes can be formed in the drum surface by casting,punching, stamping, laser-cutting and water jet cutting. The spacing ofthe forming holes 134 and therefore the degree of land area 136 can alsobe varied depending upon the particular end application of thefluid-entangled laminate web 10. Further, the pattern of the formingholes 134 in the texturizing drum 130 can be varied depending upon theparticular end application of the fluid-entangled laminate web 10. Thematerial forming the texturizing drum 130 may be any number of suitablematerials commonly used for such forming drums including, but notlimited to, sheet metal, plastics and other polymer materials, rubber,etc. The forming holes 134 can be formed in a sheet of the material 132that is then formed into a texturizing drum 130 or the texturizing drum130 can be molded or cast from suitable materials or printed with 3Dprinting technology. Typically, the perforated drum 130 is removablyfitted onto and over an optional porous inner drum shell 138 so thatdifferent forming surfaces 132 can be used for different end productdesigns. The porous inner drum shell 138 interfaces with the fluidremoval system 160 which facilitates pulling the entangling fluid andfibers down into the forming holes 134 in the outer texturizing drumsurface 132 thereby forming the hollow projections 12 in the projectionweb 16. The porous inner drum shell 138 also acts as a barrier to retardfurther fiber movement down into the fluid removal system 160 and otherportions of the equipment thereby reducing fouling of the equipment. Theporous inner drum shell 138 rotates in the same direction and at thesame speed as the texturizing drum 130. In addition, to further controlthe height of the projections 12, the distance between the inner drumshell 138 and the texturizing drum 130 can be varied. Generally thespacing between the inner surface of projection forming surface 130 andthe outer surface of the inner drum shell 138 will range between about 0and about 5 mm. Other ranges can be used depending on the particularend-use application and the desired features of the fluid-entangledlaminate web 10.

The depth of the forming holes 134 in the texturizing drum 130 or otherprojection forming surface 130 can be between 1 mm and 10 mm butpreferably between around 3 mm and 5 mm to produce projections 12 withthe shape most useful in the expected common applications. The holecross-section size may be between about 2 mm and 10 mm but it ispreferably between 3 mm and 6 mm as measured along the major axis andthe spacing of the forming holes 134 on a center-to-center basis can bebetween 3 mm and 10 mm but preferably between 4 mm and 7 mm. The patternof the spacing between forming holes 134 may be varied and selecteddepending upon the particular end use. Some examples of patternsinclude, but are not limited to, aligned patterns of rows and/orcolumns, skewed patterns, hexagonal patterns, wavy patterns and patternsdepicting pictures, figures and objects.

The cross-sectional dimensions of the forming holes 134 and their depthinfluence the cross-section and height of the projections 12 produced inthe projection web 16. Generally, hole shapes with sharp or narrowcorners at the leading edge of the forming holes 134 as viewed in themachine direction 131 should be avoided as they can sometimes impair theability to safely remove the fluid-entangled laminate web 10 from theforming surface 132 without damage to the projections 12. In addition,the thickness/hole depth in the texturizing drum 130 will generally tendto correspond to the depth or height of the hollow projections 12. Itshould be noted, however, that each of the hole depth, spacing, size,shape and other parameters may be varied independently of one anotherand may be varied based upon the particular end use of thefluid-entangled laminate web 10 being formed.

The land areas 136 in the forming surface 132 of the texturizing drum130 are typically solid so as to not pass the entangling fluid 142emanating from the pressurized fluid jets contained in the fluidentangling devices 140 but in some instances it may be desirable to makethe land areas 136 fluid permeable to further texturize the exposedsurface of the projection web 16. Alternatively, select areas of theforming surface 132 of the texturizing drum 130 may be fluid perviousand other areas impervious. For example, a central zone (not shown) ofthe texturizing drum 130 may be fluid pervious while lateral regions(not shown) on either side of the central region may be fluidimpervious. In addition, the land areas 136 in the forming surface 132may have raised areas (not shown) formed in or attached thereto to formthe optional dimples 23 and/or the apertures 25 in the projection web 16and the fluid-entangled laminate web 10.

In the embodiment of the apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3, the projectionforming surface 130 is shown in the form of a texturizing drum. Itshould be appreciated however that other means may be used to create theprojection forming surface 130. For example, a foraminous belt or wire(not shown) may be used which includes forming holes 134 formed in thebelt or wire at appropriate locations. Alternatively, flexiblerubberized belts (not shown) which are impervious to the pressurizedfluid entangling streams save the forming holes 134 may be used. Suchbelts and wires are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art asare the means for driving and controlling the speed of such belts andwires. A texturizing drum 130 is more advantageous for formation of thefluid-entangled laminate web 10 according to the present inventionbecause it can be made with land areas 136 which are smooth andimpervious to the entangling fluid 142 and which do not leave a wireweave pattern on the outer surface 26 of the projection web 16 as wirebelts tend to do.

An alternative to a forming surface 132 with a hole-depth defining theprojection height is a forming surface 132 that is thinner than thedesired projection height but which is spaced away from the porous innerdrum shell 138 surface on which it is wrapped. The spacing between thetexturizing drum 130 and porous inner drum shell 138 may be achieved byany means that preferably does not otherwise interfere with the processof forming the hollow projections 12 and withdrawing the entanglingfluid from the equipment. For example, one means is a hard wire orfilament that may be inserted between the outer texturizing drum 130 andthe porous inner drum shell 138 as a spacer or wrapped around the innerporous drum shell 138 underneath the texturizing drum 130 to provide theappropriate spacing. A shell depth of the forming surface 132 of lessthan 2 mm can make it more difficult to remove the projection web 16 andthe laminate 10 from the texturizing drum 130 because the fibrousmaterial of the projection web 16 can expand or be moved by entanglingfluid flow into the overhanging area beneath the texturizing drum 130which in turn can distort the resultant fluid-entangled laminate web 10.It has been found, however, that by using a support layer 14 inconjunction with the projection web 16 as part of the formation process,distortion of the resultant two layer fluid-entangled laminate web 10can be greatly reduced. Use of the support web 14 generally facilitatescleaner removal of the fluid-entangled laminate web 10 because the lessextensible, more dimensionally stable support layer 14 takes the loadwhile the fluid-entangled laminate 10 is removed from the texturizingdrum 130. The higher tension that can be applied to the support layer14, compared to a single projection web 16, means that as thefluid-entangled laminate 10 moves away from the texturizing drum 130,the projections 12 can exit the forming holes 134 smoothly in adirection roughly perpendicular to the forming surface 132 andco-axially with the forming holes 134 in the texturizing drum 130. Inaddition, by using the support layer 14, processing speeds can beincreased.

To form the projections 12 in the projection web 16 and to laminate thesupport layer 14 and the projection web 16 together, one or more fluidentangling devices 140 are spaced above the projection forming surface130. The most common technology used in this regard is referred to asspunlace or hydroentangling technology which uses pressurize water asthe fluid for entanglement. As an unbonded or relatively unbonded web orwebs are fed into a fluid-entangling device 140, a multitude of highpressure fluid jets (not shown) from one or more fluid entanglingdevices 140 move the fibers of the webs and the fluid turbulence causesthe fibers to entangle. These fluid streams, which is this case arewater, can cause the fibers to be further entangled within theindividual webs. The streams can also cause fiber movement andentanglement at the interface 27 of two or more webs/layers therebycausing the webs/layers to become joined together. Still further, if thefibers in a web, such as the projection web 16, are loosely heldtogether, they can be driven out of their X-Y plane and thus in theZ-direction (see FIGS. 1 and 2A) to form the projections 12 which arepreferably hollow. Depending on the level of entanglement needed, one ora plurality of such fluid entangling devices 140 can be used.

In FIG. 3 a single fluid entangling device 140 is shown but insucceeding Figures where multiple devices 140 are used in variousregions of the apparatus 100, they are labeled with letter designatorssuch as 140 a, 140 b, 140 c, 140 d and 140 e. When multiple devices areused, the entangling fluid pressure in each subsequent fluid entanglingdevice 140 is usually higher than the preceding one so that the energyimparted to the webs/layers increases and so the fiber entanglementwithin or between the webs/layers increases. This reduces disruption ofthe overall evenness of the areal density of the web/layer by thepressurized fluid jets while achieving the desired level of entanglementand hence bonding of the webs/layers and formation of the projections12. The entangling fluid 142 of the fluid entangling devices 140emanates from injectors via jet packs or strips (not shown) consistingof a row or rows of pressurized fluid jets with small apertures of adiameter usually between 0.08 and 0.15 mm and spacing of around 0.5 mmin the cross-machine direction. The pressure in the jets can be betweenabout 5 bar and about 400 bar but typically is less than 200 bar exceptfor heavy fluid-entangled laminate webs 10 and when fibrillation isrequired. Other jet sizes, spacings, numbers of jets and jet pressurescan be used depending upon the particular end application. Such fluidentangling devices 140 are well known to those of ordinary skill in theart and are readily available from such manufactures as Fleissner ofGermany and Andritz-Perfojet of France.

The fluid entangling devices 140 will typically have the jet orificespositioned or spaced between about 5 millimeters and about 20millimeters and more typically between about 5 and about 10 millimetersfrom the projection forming surface 130 though the actual spacing canvary depending on the basis weights of the materials being acted upon,the fluid pressure, the number of individual jets being used, the amountof vacuum being used via the fluid removal system 160 and the speed atwhich the equipment is being run.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 through 7 the fluid entanglingdevices 140 are conventional hydroentangling devices the constructionand operation of which are well known to those of ordinary skill in theart. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,706 to Evans, the contents ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes. Also see the description of the hydraulic entanglementequipment described by Honeycomb Systems, Inc., Biddeford, Me., in thearticle entitled “Rotary Hydraulic Entanglement of Nonwovens”, reprintedfrom INSIGHT '86 INTERNATIONAL ADVANCED FORMING/BONDING Conference, thecontents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes.

Returning again to FIG. 3, the projection web 16 is fed into theapparatus and process 100 at a speed V1, the support layer 14 is fedinto the apparatus and process 100 at a speed V2 and the fluid-entangledlaminate web 10 exits the apparatus and process 100 at a speed V3 whichis the speed of the projection forming surface 130 and can also bereferred to as the projection forming surface speed. As will beexplained in greater detail below, these speeds V1, V2, and V3 may bethe same as one another or varied to change the formation process andthe properties of the resultant fluid-entangled laminate web 10. Feedingboth the projection web 16 and the support layer 14 into the process atthe same speed (V1 and V2) will produce a fluid-entangled laminate web10 according to the present invention with the desired hollowprojections 12. Feeding both the projection web 16 and the support layer14 into the process at the same speed which is faster than the machinedirection speed (V3) of the projection forming surface 130 will alsoform the desired hollow projections 12.

Also shown in FIG. 3 is an optional overfeed roll 150 which may bedriven at a speed or rate Vf. The overfeed roll 150 may be run at thesame speed as the speed V1 of the projection web 16 in which case Vfwill equal V1 or it may be run at a faster rate to tension theprojection web 16 upstream of the overfeed roll 150 when overfeed isdesired. Over-feed occurs when one or both of the incoming webs/layers(16, 14) are fed onto the projection forming surface 130 at a greaterspeed than the projection forming surface speed of the projectionforming surface 130. It has been found that improved projectionformation in the projection web 16 can be affected by feeding theprojection web 16 onto the projection forming surface 130 at a higherrate than the incoming speed V2 of the support layer 14. In addition,however, it has been discovered that improved properties and projectionformation can be accomplished by varying the feed rates of thewebs/layers (16, 14) and by also using the overfeed roll 150 justupstream of the texturizing drum 130 to supply a greater amount of fibervia the projection web 16 for subsequent movement by the entanglingfluid 142 down into the forming holes 134 in the texturizing drum 130.In particular, by overfeeding the projection web 16 onto the texturizingdrum 130, improved projection formation can be achieved includingincreased projection height.

In order to provide an excess of fiber so that the height of theprojections 12 is maximized, the projection web 16 can be fed onto thetexturing drum 130 at a greater surface speed (V1) than the texturizingdrum 130 is traveling (V3). Referring to FIG. 3, when overfeed isdesired, the projection web 16 is fed onto the texturizing drum 130 at aspeed V1 while the support layer 14 is fed in at a speed V2 and thetexturizing drum 130 is traveling at a speed V3 which is slower than V1and can be equal to V2. The overfeed percent or ratio, the ratio atwhich the projection web 16 is fed onto the texturizing drum 130, can bedefined as OF=[(V1/V3)−1]×100 where V1 is the input speed of theprojection web 16 and V3 is the output speed of the resultantfluid-entangled laminate web 10 and the speed of the texturizing drum130. (When the overfeed roll 150 is being used to increase the speed ofthe incoming material onto the texturizing drum 130 it should be notedthat the speed V1 of the material after the overfeed roll 150 will befaster than the speed V1 upstream of the overfeed roll 150. Incalculating the overfeed ratio, it is this faster speed V1 that shouldbe used.) Good formation of the projections 12 has been found to occurwhen the overfeed ratio is between about 10 and about 50 percent. Notetoo, that this overfeeding technique and ratio can be used with respectto not just the projection web 16 only but to a combination of theprojection web 16 and the support layer 14 as they are collectively fedonto the projection forming surface 130.

In order to minimize the length of projection web 16 that is supportingits own weight before being subjected to the entangling fluid 142 and toavoid wrinkling and folding of the projection web 16, the overfeed roll150 can be used to carry the projection web 16 at speed V1 to a positionclose to the texturizing zone 144 on the texturizing drum 130. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 3, the overfeed roll 150 is driven off thetransport belt 110 but it is also possible to drive it separately so asto not put undue stress on the incoming projection web material 16. Thesupport layer 14 may be fed into the texturizing zone 144 separatelyfrom the projection web 16 and at a speed V2 that may be greater than,equal to or less than the texturizing drum speed V3 and greater than,equal to or less than the projection web 16 speed V1. Preferably thesupport layer 14 is drawn into the texturizing zone 144 by itsfrictional engagement with the projection web 16 positioned on thetexturizing drum 130 and so once on the texturizing drum 130, thesupport layer 14 has a surface speed close to the speed V3 of thetexturizing drum 130 or it may be positively fed into the texturizingzone 144 at a speed close to the texturizing drum speed of V3. Thetexturizing process causes some contraction of the support layer 14 inthe machine direction 131. The overfeed of either the support layer 14or the projection web 16 can be adjusted according to the particularmaterials and the equipment and conditions being used so that the excessmaterial that is fed into the texturizing zone 144 is used up therebyavoiding any unsightly wrinkling in the resultant fluid-entangledlaminate web 10. As a result, the two webs/layers (16, 14) will usuallybe under some tension at all times despite the overfeeding process. Thetake-off speed of the fluid-entangled laminate web 10 must be arrangedto be to be close to the texturizing drum speed V3 such that excessivetension is not applied to the laminate in its removal from thetexturizing drum 130 as such excessive tension would be detrimental tothe clarity and size of the projections.

An alternate embodiment of the process and apparatus 100 according tothe present invention is shown in FIG. 4 in which like referencenumerals are used for like elements. In this embodiment the maindifferences are a pre-entanglement of the projection web 16 to improveits integrity prior to further processing via a pre-entanglement fluidentangling device 140 a; a lamination of the projection web 16 to thesupport layer 14 via a lamination fluid entangling device 140 b; and anincrease in the number of fluid-entangling devices 140 (referred to asprojection fluid entangling devices 140 c, 140 d and 140 e) and thus anenlargement of the texturizing zone 144 on the texturizing drum 130 inthe projection forming portion of the process.

The projection web 16 is supplied to the process/apparatus 100 via thetransport belt 110. As the projection web 16 travels on the transferbelt 110 it is subjected to a first fluid entangling device 140 a toimprove the integrity of the projection web 16. This can be referred toas pre-entanglement of the projection web 16. As a result, thistransport belt 110 should be fluid pervious to allow the entanglingfluid 142 to pass through the projection web 16 and the transport belt110. To remove the delivered entangling fluid 142, as in FIG. 3, a fluidremoval system 160 such as a vacuum or other conventional fluid removaldevice may be used below the transport belt 110. The fluid pressure fromthe first fluid entangling device 140 a is generally in the range ofabout 10 to about 50 bar.

The support layer 14 and the projection web 16 are then fed to alamination forming surface 152 with the first surface 18 of the supportweb or layer 14 facing and contacting the lamination forming surface 152and the second surface 20 of the support layer 14 contacting the innersurface 24 of the projection web 16. (See FIGS. 2 and 4.) To entanglethe support layer 14 and the projection web 16 together, one or morelamination fluid entangling devices 140 b are used in connection withthe lamination forming surface 152 to affect fiber entanglement betweenthe materials. Once again, a fluid removal system 160 is used to disposeof the entangling fluid 142. To distinguish the apparatus in thislamination portion of the overall apparatus and process 100 from thesubsequent projection forming portion where the projections are formed,this equipment and process are referred to as lamination equipment asopposed to projection forming equipment. Thus, this portion is referredto as using a lamination forming surface 152 and a lamination fluidentangling device 140 b which uses lamination fluid jets as opposed toprojection forming jets. The lamination forming surface 152 is movablein the machine direction of the apparatus 100 at a lamination formingsurface speed and should be permeable to the entangling fluid emanatingfrom the lamination fluid jets located in the lamination fluidentangling device 140 b. The lamination fluid entangling device 140 bhas a plurality of lamination fluid jets which are capable of emitting aplurality of pressurized lamination fluid streams of entangling fluid142 in a direction towards the lamination forming surface 152. Thelamination forming surface 152, when in the configuration of a drum asshown in FIG. 4, can have a plurality of forming holes in its surfaceseparated by land areas to make it fluid permeable or it can be madefrom conventional forming wire which is permeable as well. In thisportion of the apparatus 100, complete bonding of the two materials (14and 16) is not necessary. Process parameters for this portion of theequipment are similar to those for the projection forming portion andthe description of the equipment and process in connection with FIG. 3.Thus, the speeds of the materials and surfaces in the lamination formingportion of the equipment and process may be varied as explained abovewith respect to the projection forming equipment and process describedwith respect to FIG. 3.

For example, the projection web 16 may be fed into the laminationforming process and onto the support layer 14 at a speed that is greaterthan the speed the support layer 14 is fed onto the lamination formingsurface 152. Relative to entangling fluid pressures, lower laminationfluid jet pressures are desired in this portion of the equipment asadditional entanglement of the webs/layers will occur during theprojection forming portion of the process. As a result, laminationforming pressures from the lamination entangling device 140 b willusually range between about 30 and about 100 bar.

When the plurality of lamination fluid streams 142 in the laminationfluid entangling device 140 b are directed in a direction from the outersurface 26 of the projection web 16 towards the lamination formingsurface 152, at least a portion of the fibers in the projection web 16are caused to become entangled with support layer 14 to form a laminateweb 10. Once the projection web 16 and support layer 14 are joined intoa laminate 10, the laminate 10 leaves the lamination portion of theequipment and process (elements 140 b and 152) and is fed into theprojection forming portion of the equipment and process (elements 130,140 c, 140 d, 140 e and optional 150). As with the process shown in FIG.3, the laminate 10 may be fed onto the projection formingsurface/texturizing drum 130 at the same speed as the texturizing drum130 is traveling or it may be overfed onto the texturizing drum 130using the overfeed roll 150 or by simply causing the laminate 10 totravel at a speed V1 which is greater than the speed V3 of theprojection forming surface 130. As a result, the process variablesdescribed above with respect to FIG. 3 of the drawings may also beemployed with the equipment and process shown in FIG. 4. In addition, aswith the apparatus and materials in FIG. 3, if the overfeed roll 150 isused to increase the speed V1 of the laminate 10 as it comes in contactwith the projection forming surface 130, it is this faster speed V1after the overfeed roll 150 that should be used when calculating theoverfeed ratio. The same approach should be used when calculating theoverfeed ratio with the remainder of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4a ,5, 6 and 7 if overfeed of material is being employed.

In the projection forming portion of the equipment, a plurality ofpressurized projection fluid streams of entangling fluid 142 aredirected from the projection fluid jets located in the projection fluidentangling devices (140 c, 140 d and 140 e) into the laminate web 10 ina direction from the first surface 18 of the support layer 14 towardsthe projection forming surface 130 to cause a first plurality of thefibers of the projection web 16 in the vicinity of the forming holes 134located in the projection forming surface 130 to be directed into theforming holes 134 to form the plurality of projections 12 which extendoutwardly from the outer surface 26 of the projection web 16 therebyforming the fluid-entangled laminate web 10 according to the presentinvention. As with the other processes, the formed laminate 10 isremoved from the projection forming surface 130 and, if desired, may besubjected to the same or different further processing as described withrespect to the process and apparatus in FIG. 3 such as drying to removeexcess entangling fluid or further bonding or other steps. In theprojection forming portion of the equipment and apparatus 100projection, forming pressures from the projection fluid entanglingdevices (140 c, 140 d and 140 e) will usually range between about 80 andabout 200 bar.

A further modification of the process and apparatus 100 of FIG. 4 isshown in FIG. 4A. In FIG. 4, as well as subsequent embodiments of theapparatus and process shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the fluid-entangledlaminate web 10 is subjected to a pre-lamination step by way of thelamination forming surface 152 and a lamination fluid entangling deviceor devices 140 b. In each of these configurations (FIGS. 4, 5 and 7),the material that is in direct contact with the lamination formingsurface 152 is the first surface 18 of support layer 14. However, it isalso possible to invert the support layer 14 and the projection web 16such as is shown in FIG. 4A such that the outer surface 26 of theprojection web 16 is the side that is in direct contact with thelamination forming surface 152 and this alternate version of theapparatus and process of FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 is also within the scope ofthe present invention as well as variations thereof.

Yet another alternate embodiment of the process and apparatus 100according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. This embodimentis similar to that shown in FIG. 4 except that only the projection web16 is subjected to pre-entanglement using the fluid entangling devices140 a and 140 b prior to the projection web 16 being fed into theprojection forming portion of the equipment. In addition, the supportlayer 14 is fed into the texturizing zone 144 on the projection formingsurface/drum 130 in the same manner as in FIG. 3 though the texturizingzone 144 is supplied with multiple projection fluid entangling devices(140 c, 140 d and 140 e).

FIG. 6 depicts a further embodiment of the process and apparatusaccording to the present invention which, like FIG. 4, brings theprojection web 16 and the support layer 14 into contact with one anotherfor a lamination treatment in a lamination portion of the equipment andprocess utilizing a lamination forming surface 152 (which is the sameelement as the transport belt 110) and a lamination fluid entanglementdevice 140 b. In addition, like the embodiment of FIG. 4, in thetexturizing zone 144 of the projection forming portion of the processand apparatus 100, multiple projection fluid entangling devices (140 cand 140 d) are used.

FIG. 7 depicts a further embodiment of the process and apparatus 100according to the present invention. In FIG. 7, the primary difference isthat the projection web 16 undergoes a first treatment with entanglingfluid 142 via a projection fluid entangling device 140 c in thetexturizing zone 144 before the second surface 20 of the support layer14 is brought into contact with the inner surface 24 of the projectionweb 16 for fluid entanglement via the projection fluid entangling device140 d. In this manner, an initial formation of the projections 12 beginswithout the support layer 14 being in place. As a result, it may bedesirable that the projection fluid entangling device 140 c be operatedat a lower pressure than the projection fluid entangling device 140 d.For example, the projection fluid entangling device 140 c may beoperated in a pressure range of about 100 to about 140 bar whereas theprojection fluid entangling device 140 d may be operated in a pressurerange of about 140 to about 200 bar. Other combinations and ranges ofpressures can be chosen depending upon the operating conditions of theequipment and the types and basis weights of the materials being usedfor the projection web 16 and the support layer 14.

In each of the embodiments of the process and apparatus 100, the fibersin the projection web 16 are sufficiently detached and mobile within theprojection web 16 such that the entangling fluid 142 emanating from theprojection fluid jets in the texturizing zone 144 is able to move asufficient number of the fibers out of the X-Y plane of the projectionweb 16 in the vicinity of the forming holes 134 in the projectionforming surface 130 and force the fibers down into the forming holes 134thereby forming the hollow projections 12 in the projection web 16 ofthe fluid-entangled laminate web 10. In addition, by overfeeding atleast the projection web 16 into the texturizing zone 144, enhancedprojection formation can be achieved as shown by the below examples andphotomicrographs.

EXAMPLES

To demonstrate the process, apparatus and materials of the presentinvention, a series of fluid entangled laminate webs 10 were made aswell as projection webs 16 without support layers 14. The samples weremade on a spunlace production line at Textor Technologies PTY LTD inTullamarine, Australia in a fashion similar to that shown in FIG. 5 ofthe drawings with the exception being that only one projection fluidentangling device 140 c was employed for forming the projections 12 inthe texturizing zone 144. In addition, the projection web 16 waspre-wetted upstream of the process shown in FIG. 5 and prior to thepre-entangling fluid entangling device 140 a using conventionalequipment. In this case the pre-wetting was achieved through the use ofa single injector set at a pressure of 8 bar. The pre-entangling fluidentangling device 140 a was set at 45 bar, the lamination fluidentangling device 140 b was set at 60 bar while the single projectionfluid entangling device 140 c pressure was varied as set forth in Tables1 and 2 below at pressures of 140, 160 and 180 bar depending on theparticular sample being run.

For the transport belt 110 in FIG. 5 the pre-entangling fluid entanglingdevice 140 a was set at a height of 10 mm above the transport belt 110.For the lamination forming surface 152 the lamination fluid entanglingdevice 140 b was set at a height of 12 mm above the surface 152 as wasthe projection fluid entangling device 140 c with respect to theprojection forming surface 130.

The projection forming surface 130 was a 1.3 m wide steel texturing drumhaving a diameter of 520 mm, a drum thickness of 3 mm and a hexagonalclose packed pattern of 4 mm round forming holes separated by 6 mm on acenter-to-center spacing. The porous inner drum shell 138 was a 100 mesh(100 wires per inch in both directions/39 wires per centimeter in bothdirections) woven stainless steel mesh wire. The separation or gapbetween the exterior of the shell 138 and the inside of the drum 130 was1.5 mm.

The process parameters that were varied were the aforementionedentangling fluid pressures (140, 160 and 180 bar) and degree of overfeed(0%, 11%, 25% and 43%) using the aforementioned overfeed ratio ofOF=[(V₁/V₃)−1]×100 where V1 is the input speed of the projection web 16and V3 is the output speed of the resultant laminate 10. All sampleswere run at an exit line or take-off speed (V3) of approximately 25meters per minute (m/min). V1 is reported in the Tables 1 and 2 for thesamples therein. V2 was held constant for all samples in Tables 1 and 2at a speed equal to V3 or 25 meters per minute. The finished sampleswere sent through a line drier to remove excess water as is usual in thehydroentanglement process. Samples were collected after the drier andthen labeled with a code (see Tables 1 and 2) to correspond to theprocess conditions used.

Relative to the materials made, as indicated below, some were made witha support layer 14 and others were not and when a support layer 14 wasused, there were three variations including a spunbond web, a spunlaceweb and a through air bonded carded web (TABCW). The spunbond supportlayer 14 was a 17 gram per square meter (gsm) polypropylene point bondedweb made from 1.8 denier polypropylene spunbond fibers which weresubsequently point bonded with an overall bond area per unit area of17.5%. The spunbond web was made by Kimberly-Clark Australia of MilsonsPoint, Australia. The spunbond material was supplied and entered intothe process in roll form with a roll width of approximately 130centimeters. The spunlace web was a 52 gsm spunlace material using auniform mixture of 70 weight percent 1.5 denier, 40 mm long viscosestaple fibers and 30 weight percent 1.4 denier, 38 mm long polyester(PET) staple fibers made by Textor Technologies PTY LTD of Tullamarine,Australia. The spunlace material was pre-formed and supplied in rollform and had a roll width of approximately 140 centimeters. The TABCWhad a basis weight of 40 gsm and comprised a uniform mixture of 40weight percent, 6 denier, 51 mm long PET staple fibers and 60 weightpercent 3.8 denier, 51 mm long polyethylene sheath/polypropylene corebicomponent staple fibers made by Textor Technologies PTY LTD ofTullamarine, Australia. In the data below (see Table 1) under theheading “support layer” the spunbond web was identified as “SB”, thespunlace web was identified as “SL” and the TABCW was identified as “S”.Where no support layer 14 was used, the term “None” appears. The basisweights used in the examples should not be considered a limitation onthe basis weights that can be used as the basis weights for the supportlayers may be varied depending on the end applications. In all cases theprojection web 16 was a carded staple fiber web made from 100% 1.2denier, 38 mm long polyester staple fibers available from the HuvisCorporation of Daejeon, Korea. The carded web was manufactured in-linewith the hydroentanglement process by Textor Technologies PTY LTD ofTullamarine, Australia and had a width of approximately 140 centimeters.Basis weights varied as indicated in Tables 1 and 2 and ranged between28 gsm and 49.5 gsm, though other basis weights and ranges may be useddepending upon the end application. The projection web 16 was identifiedas the “card web” in the data below in Tables 1 and 2.

The thickness of the materials set forth in Tables 1 and 2 below as wellas in FIG. 11 of the drawings were measured using a Mitutoyo modelnumber ID-C1025B thickness gauge with a foot pressure of 345 Pa (0.05psi). Measurements were taken at room temperature (about 20 degreesCelsius) and reported in millimeters using a round foot with a diameterof 76.2 mm (3 inches). Thicknesses for select samples (average of threesamples) with and without support layers are shown in FIG. 11 of thedrawings.

The tensile strength of the materials, defined as the peak load achievedduring the test, was measured in both the Machine Direction (MD) and theCross-Machine Direction (CMD) using an Instron model 3343 tensiletesting device running an Instron Series IX software module Rev. 1.16with a +/−1 kN load cell. The initial jaw separation distance (“GaugeLength”) was set at 75 millimeters and the crosshead speed was set at300 millimeters per minute. The jaw width was 75 millimeters. Sampleswere cut to 50 mm width by 300 mm length in the MD and each tensilestrength test result reported was the average of two samples per code.Samples were evaluated at room temperature (about 20 degrees Celsius).Excess material was allowed to drape out the ends and sides of theapparatus. CMD strengths and extensions were also measured and generallythe CMD strengths were about one half to one fifth of MD strength andCMD extensions at peak load were about two to three times higher than inthe MD direction. (The CMD samples were cut with the long dimensionbeing taken in the CMD.) MD strengths were reported in Newtons per 50 mmwidth of material. (Results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.) MD extensionsfor the material at peak load were reported as the percentage of theinitial Gauge Length (initial jaw separation).

Extension measurements were also made and reported in the MD at a loadof 10 Newtons (N). (See Tables 1 and 2 below and FIG. 12.) Tables 1 and2 shows data based upon varying the support layer being used, the degreeof overfeed being used and variances in the water pressure from thehydroentangling water jets.

As an example of the consequences of varying process parameters, highoverfeed requires sufficient jet-pressure to drive the projection web 16into the texturing drum 130 and so take up the excess material beingoverfed into the texturing zone 144. If sufficient jet energy is notavailable to overcome the material's resistance to texturing, then thematerial will fold and overlap itself and in the worst case may lap aroller prior to the texturing zone 144 requiring the process to bestopped. While the experiments were conducted at a line speed V3 of 25m/min, this should not be considered a limitation as to the line speedas the equipment with similar materials was run at line speeds rangingfrom 10 to 70 m/min and speeds outside this range may be used dependingon the materials being run.

The following tables summarize the materials, process parameters, andtest results. For the samples shown in Table 1, samples were made withand without support layers. Codes 1.1 through 3.6 used theaforementioned spunbond support layer. Codes 4.1 through 5.9 had nosupport layer. Jet pressures for each of the samples are listed in theTable.

TABLE 1 Experimental parameters and test results, support layer and nosupport layer, codes 1 to 5. Laminate* Card Card web Laminate* Laminate*Extension at Laminate* Support web Speed (V₁) Press. Laminate* ThicknessMD Strength Peak Load MD MD Extension CODE layer (gsm) Overfeed (mm/min)(bar) Weight (gsm) (mm) (N/50 mm) (%) @10 N (%) 1.1 SB 28 43% 35.8 18051 2.22 75.6 85.0 5.0 1.2 SB 28 43% 35.8 160 52.2 2.33 65.8 82.1 3.5 1.3SB 28 43% 35.8 140 51.1 2.34 61.3 86.1 3.4 1.4 SB 28 11% 27.8 140 46.31.47 95.5 53.0 4.9 1.5 SB 28 11% 27.8 160 45.5 1.52 91.9 46.7 4.7 1.6 SB28 11% 27.8 180 46.7 1.61 109.1 49.8 5.0 1.7 SB 28 25% 31.3 180 50.52.02 94.4 63.7 3.7 1.8 SB 28 25% 31.3 160 50.7 1.97 82.1 62.2 5.6 1.9 SB28 25% 31.3 140 49.7 1.99 74.9 62.8 4.2 1.10 SB 28 0% 25.0 140 42.9 1.08104.4 35.8 3.0 1.11 SB 28 0% 25.0 160 43.6 1.15 102.8 35.2 3.7 1.12 SB28 0% 25.0 180 44.1 1.17 97.5 35.7 5.0 2.1 SB 20 11% 27.8 140 36.8 1.2753.1 44.2 2.4 2.2 SB 20 11% 27.8 160 36.2 1.27 52.5 62.1 2.9 2.3 SB 2011% 27.8 180 37.4 1.31 57.8 44.3 2.7 2.4 SB 20 25% 31.3 180 39 1.55 53.456.6 2.4 2.5 SB 20 25% 31.3 160 38 1.48 46.6 63.4 2.8 2.6 SB 20 25% 31.3140 38.8 1.46 39.7 30.4 2.3 2.7 SB 20 43% 35.8 140 40.9 1.78 32.3 53.02.6 2.8 SB 20 43% 35.8 160 41.4 1.82 35.7 77.2 2.7 2.9 SB 20 43% 35.8180 41.7 1.83 47.5 87.5 3.4 3.1 SB 38 25% 31.3 180 62.2 2.52 97.3 64.82.2 3.2 SB 38 25% 31.3 160 61 2.47 93.5 63.5 2.3 3.3 SB 38 25% 31.3 14060 2.32 83.9 68.2 2.4 3.4 SB 38 43% 35.8 140 66.2 2.81 63.0 92.8 2.4 3.5SB 38 43% 35.8 160 65.4 2.81 78.6 86.5 2.3 3.6 SB 38 43% 35.8 180 67.42.88 86.0 82.0 2.4 4.1 None 31.5 43% 35.8 140 32.5 1.57 46.6 77.0 31.54.2 None 31.5 43% 35.8 160 38.1 1.93 53.4 79.8 32.9 4.3 None 31.5 43%35.8 180 35.9 2.04 46.4 69.3 31.1 4.4 None 36.0 25% 31.3 180 35.8 1.4757.4 53.8 19.0 4.5 None 36.0 25% 31.3 160 36.3 1.58 56.1 49.7 17.1 4.6None 36.0 25% 31.3 140 35.9 2.03 60.6 54.0 18.4 4.7 None 40.5 11% 27.8140 38.8 1.3 69.0 41.3 15.1 4.8 None 40.5 11% 27.8 160 38.2 1.33 72.441.4 9.9 4.9 None 40.5 11% 27.8 180 37.6 1.31 72.3 36.6 8.4 5.1 None38.5 43% 35.8 140 43.2 2.16 51.7 72.1 28.7 5.2 None 38.5 43% 35.8 16044.1 2.2 54.2 76.1 26.0 5.3 None 38.5 43% 35.8 180 43.2 2.3 50.4 74.224.1 5.4 None 46.0 25% 31.3 180 40.5 1.77 67.5 51.8 13.6 5.5 None 46.025% 31.3 160 46.5 2.02 60.0 58.2 16.5 5.6 None 46.0 25% 31.3 140 45.81.99 61.1 54.8 20.2 5.7 None 49.5 11% 27.8 140 43.6 1.52 74.0 36.8 9.25.8 None 49.5 11% 27.8 160 45 1.54 75.6 35.9 8.4 5.9 None 49.5 11% 27.8180 47 1.71 70.8 39.1 8.9 *Note for codes 4.1 to 5.9 the “Laminate” wasa single layer structure as no support layer was present.

For Table 2, samples 6SL.1 through 6SL.6 were run on the same equipmentunder the same conditions as the samples in Table 1 with theaforementioned spunlace support layer while samples 6S.1 through 6S.4were run with the aforementioned through air bonded carded web supportlayer. The projection webs (“Card webs”) were made in the same fashionas those used in Table 1.

TABLE 2 Experimental parameters and test results code 6, alternativesupport layers. Card Card web Texturizing Laminate Laminate LaminateLaminate Laminate Support web Speed V1 Jet Press. Weight Thickness MDStrength Ext at Peak Load MD CODE layer (gsm) Overfeed (m/min) (bar)(gsm) (mm) (N/50 mm) MD (%) Ext @10 N (%) 6SL.1 SL 28 25% 31.3 180 82.62.19 107.5 23.6 1.9 6SL.2 SL 28 25% 31.3 160 80 2.11 103.6 23.6 1.96SL.3 SL 28 25% 31.3 140 81.1 2.07 101.5 20.2 1.8 6SL.4 SL 28 43% 35.8140 85.4 2.16 86.7 20.2 1.7 6SL.5 SL 28 43% 35.8 160 84.2 2.53 93.4 20.81.6 6SL.6 SL 28 43% 35.8 180 83.7 2.55 103.3 22.4 1.4 6S.1 S 28 25% 31.3180 68.2 2.56 89 56 4.2 6S.2 S 28 25% 31.3 160 70 2.57 70 56.7 2.2 6S.3S 28 25% 31.3 140 72.5 2.71 67.7 62 2.8 6S.4 S 28 43% 35.8 140 78 2.6348.5 57.8 2.8

As can be seen in Tables 1 and 2, the key quality parameter of fabricthickness, which is a measure of the height of the projections asindicated by the thickness values, depended predominantly on the amountof overfeed of the projection web 16 into the texturizing zone 144.Relative to the data shown in Table 2 it can be seen that high overfeedratios resulted in increased thickness. In addition, at the sameoverfeed ratios, higher fluid pressures resulted in higher thicknessvalues which in turn indicates an increased projection height. Table 2shows the test results for samples made using alternative supportlayers. Codes 6S used a 40 gsm through air bonded carded web and codes6SL used a 52 gsm spunlaced material. These samples performed well andhad good stability and appearance when compared to unsupported sampleswith no support layers.

FIG. 11 of the drawings depicts the sample thickness in millimetersrelative to the percentage of projection web overfeed for a laminate(represented by a diamond) versus two samples that did not have asupport layer (represented by a square and triangle). All reportedvalues were an average of three samples. As can be seen from the data inFIG. 11, as overfeed was increased, the thickness of the sample alsoincreased showing the importance and advantage of using overfeed.

FIG. 12 of the drawings is a graph depicting the percentage of sampleextension at a 10 Newton load relative to the amount of projection weboverfeed for materials from Table 1. As can be seen from the graph inFIG. 12, when no support layer was present, there was a dramaticincrease in the machine direction extensibility of the resultant sampleas the percentage of overfeed of material into the texturizing zone wasincreased. In contrast, the sample with the spunbond support layerexperienced virtually no increase in its extension percentage as theoverfeed ratio was increased. This in turn resulted in the projectionweb having projections which are more stable during subsequentprocessing and which are better able to retain their shape and height.

As can be seen from the data and the graphs, higher overfeed and hencegreater projection height also decreased the MD tensile strength andincreased the MD extension at peak load. This was because the increasedtexturing provided more material (in the projections) that did notimmediately contribute to resisting the extension and generating theload and allowed greater extension before the peak load was reached.

A key benefit of the laminate of both a projection web and a supportlayer compared to the single layer projection web with no support layeris that the support layer can reduce excessive extension duringsubsequent processing and converting which can pull out the fabrictexture and reduce the height of the projections. Without the supportlayer 14 being integrated into the projection forming process, it wasvery difficult to form webs with projections that could continue to beprocessed without the forces and tensions of the process acting upon theweb and negatively impacting the integrity of the projections,especially when low basis weight webs were desired. Other means can beused to stabilize the material such as thermal or adhesive bonding orincreased entanglement but they tend to lead to a loss of fabricsoftness and an increased stiffness as well as increasing the cost. Thefluid-entangled laminate web according to the present invention canprovide softness and stability simultaneously. The difference betweensupported and unsupported textured materials is illustrated clearly inthe last column of Table 1 which, for comparison, shows the extension ofthe samples at a load of 10N. The data is also displayed in FIG. 12 ofthe drawings. It can be seen that the sample supported by the spunbondsupport layer extended only a few percent at an applied load of 10Newtons (N) and the extension was almost independent of the overfeed. Incontrast the unsupported projection web extended by up to 30% at a 10Newton load and the extension at 10N was strongly dependent on theoverfeed used to texture the sample. Low extensions at 10N can beachieved for unsupported webs but only by having low overfeed, whichresults in low projection height i.e. little texturing of the web.

FIG. 13 of the drawings shows an example of the load-extension curvesobtained in tensile testing of samples in the machine direction (MD)which is the direction in which highest loads are most likely to beexperienced in winding up the material and in further processing andconverting. The samples shown in FIG. 13 were all made using an overfeedratio of 43% and had approximately the same areal density (45 gsm). Itcan be seen that the sample containing the spunbond support layer had amuch higher initial modulus, the start of the curve was steep comparedto that of the unsupported, single projection web by itself. Thissteeper initial part of the curve for the sample with the support layerwas also recoverable as the sample was elastic up to the point where thegradient started to decrease. The unsupported sample had a very lowmodulus and permanent deformation and loss of texture occurred at alower load. FIG. 13 of the drawings shows the load-extension curves forboth a supported and unsupported fabric. Note the relative steepness ofthe initial part of the curve for the supported fabric/laminateaccording to the present invention. This means that the unsupportedsample is relatively easily stretched and a high extension is requiredto generate any tension in it compared to the supported sample. Tensionis often required for stability in later processing and converting butthe unsupported sample is more likely to suffer permanent deformationand loss of texture as a result of the high extension needed to maintaintension.

FIGS. 14 and 15 of the drawings show a set of curves for a wider rangeof conditions. It can be seen that the samples with a low level oftexturing from low overfeed were stiffer and stronger (despite beingslightly lighter) but the absence of texture rendered them not useful inthis context. All supported laminate samples according to the presentinvention had higher initial gradients compared to the unsupportedsamples.

The level of improvement in the overall quality of the fluid-entangledlaminate web 10 as compared to a projection web 16 with no support layer14 can be seen by comparing the photos of the materials shown in FIGS.16, 16A, 17, 17A and 18. FIGS. 16 and 16A are photos of the samplerepresented by Code 3-6 in Table 1. FIGS. 17 and 17A are photos of thesample represented by Code 5-3 in Table 1. These codes were selected asthey both had the highest amount of overfeed (43%), and jet pressure(180 bar) using comparable projection web basis weights (38 gsm and 38.5gsm respectively) and thus the highest potential for good projectionformation. As can be seen by the comparison of the two codes andaccompanying photos, the supported web/laminate formed a much morerobust and visually discernible projections and uniform material thanthe same projection web without a support layer. It also had betterproperties as shown by the data in Table 1. As a result, the supportedlaminate according to the present invention is much more suitable forsubsequent processing and use in such products as, for example, personalcare absorbent articles.

FIG. 18 is a photo at the interface of a projection web with and withouta support layer. As can be seen in this photo, the supported projectionweb has a much higher level of integrity. This is especially importantwhen the material is to be used in such end applications as personalcare absorbent articles where it is necessary (often with the use ofadhesives) to attach the projection web to subjacent layers of theproduct. With the unsupported projection web, adhesive bleed through isa much higher threat. Such bleed through can result in fouling of theprocessing equipment and unwanted adhesion of layers thereby causingexcessive downtime with manufacturing equipment. In use, the unsupportedprojection web is more likely to allow absorbed fluids taken in by theabsorbent article (such as blood, urine, feces and menses) to flow backor “rewet” the top surface of the material thereby resulting in aninferior product.

Another advantage evident from visual observation of the samples (notshown) was the coverage and the degree of flatness of the back of thefirst surface 18 on the external side of the support layer 14 and thusthe laminate 10 resulting from the formation process when compared tothe inner surface 24 of a projection web 16 run through the same process100 without a support layer 14. Without the support layer 14, theexternal surface of the projection web 16 opposite the projections 12was uneven and relatively non-planar. In contrast, the same externalsurface of the fluid-entangled laminate web 10 according to the presentinvention with the support layer 14 was smoother and much flatter.Providing such flat surfaces improves the ability to adhere the laminateto other materials in later converting. As noted in the exemplaryproduct embodiments described below, when fluid-entangled laminate webs10 according to the present invention are used in such items as personalcare absorbent articles, having flat surfaces which readily interfacewith adjoining layers is important in the context of joining thelaminate to other surfaces so as to allow rapid passage of fluidsthrough the various layers of the product. If good surface-to-surfacecontact between layers is not present, fluid transfer between theadjoining layers can be compromised.

Product Embodiments

Fluid-entangled laminate webs according to the present invention have awide variety of possible end uses especially where fluid adsorption,fluid transfer and fluid distancing are important. Two particularlythough non-limiting areas of use involve food packaging and otherabsorbent articles such as personal care absorbent articles, bandagesand the like. In food packaging, it is desirable to use absorbent padswithin the food packages to absorb fluids emanating from the packagedgoods. This is particularly true with meat and seafood products. Thebulky nature of the materials provided herein are beneficial in that theprojections can help distance the packaged goods from the releasedfluids sitting in the bottom of the package. In addition, the laminatemay be attached to a liquid impermeable material such as a film layer onthe first side 18 of the support layer 14 via adhesives or other meansso that fluids entering the laminate will be contained therein.

Personal care absorbent articles include such products as diapers,training pants, diaper pants, adult incontinence products, femininehygiene products, wet and dry wipes, bandages, nursing pads, bed pads,changing pads and the like. Feminine hygiene products include sanitarynapkins, overnight pads, pantliners, tampons and the like. When suchproducts are used to absorb body fluids such as blood, urine, menses,feces, drainage fluids from injury and surgical sites, etc., commonlydesired attributes of such products include fluid absorbency, softness,strength and separation from the affected body part to promote acleaner, drier feel and to facilitate air flow for comfort and skinwellness. Laminates according to the present invention can be designedto provide such attributes. The hollow projections promote fluidtransfer and separation from the remainder of the laminate. Because alighter, softer material can be chosen for skin contact which in turn issupported by a stronger backing material, softness can also be imparted.In addition, because of the void volume created by the land areassurrounding the projections, area is provided to allow for thecollection of unabsorbed solid materials. This void volume in turn canbe useful when the product is removed as the combination of projectionsand void areas allow the laminate to be used in a cleaning mode to wipeand clean soiled skin surfaces. These same benefits can also be realizedwhen the laminate is employed as either a wet or dry wipe which makesthe laminate desirable for such products as baby and adult care wipes(wet and dry), household cleaning wipes, bath and beauty wipes, cosmeticwipes and applicators, etc. In addition, in any or all of theseapplications, the laminate 10 and in particular the land areas 19 can beapertured to further facilitate fluid flow.

Personal care absorbent articles or simply absorbent articles typicallyhave certain key components which may employ the laminates of thepresent invention. Turning to FIG. 10 there is shown an absorbentarticle 200 which in this case is a basic disposable diaper design.Typically such products 200 will include a body side liner orskin-contacting material 202, a garment-facing material also referred toas a backsheet or baffle 204 and an absorbent core 206 disposed betweenthe body side liner 202 and the backsheet 204. In addition, it is alsovery common for the product to have an optional layer 208 which iscommonly referred to as a surge or transfer layer disposed between thebody side liner 202 and the absorbent core 206. Other layers andcomponents may also be incorporated into such products as will bereadily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in such productformation.

The fluid-entangled laminate web 10 according to the present inventionmay be used as all or a portion of any one or all of theseaforementioned components of such personal care products 200 includingone of the external surfaces (202 or 204). For example, the laminate web10 may be used as the body side liner 202 in which case it is moredesirable for the projections 12 to be facing outwardly so as to be in abody contacting position in the product 200. The laminate 10 may also beused as the surge or transfer layer 208 or at the absorbent core 206 ora portion of the absorbent core 206. Finally, from a softness andaesthetics standpoint, the laminate 10 may be used as the outermost sideof the backsheet 204 in which case it may be desirable to attach aliquid impervious film or other material to the first side 18 of thesupport layer 14.

The laminate 10 may also be used to serve several functions within apersonal care absorbent article 200 such as is shown in FIG. 10. Forexample, the projection web 16 may function as the body side liner 202and the support layer 14 may function as the surge layer 208. In thisregard, the materials in the examples with the “S” support layers areparticularly advantageous in providing such functions. See Tables 1 and2.

When such products are in the form of diapers and adult incontinencedevices, they can also include what are termed “ears” located in thefront and/or back waist regions at the lateral sides of the products.These ears are used to secure the product about the torso of the wearer,typically in conjunction with adhesive and/or mechanical hook and loopfastening systems. In certain applications, the fastening systems areconnected to the distal ends of the ears and are attached to what isreferred to as a “frontal patch” or “tape landing zone” located on thefront waist portion of the product. The fluid-entangled laminate webaccording to the present invention may be used for all or a portion ofany one or more of these components and products.

When such absorbent articles are in the form of a training pant, diaperpant, incontinent pant or other product which is designed to be pulledon and worn like underwear, such products will typically include whatare termed “side panels” joining the front and back waist regions of theproduct. Such side panels can include both elastic and non-elasticportions and the fluid-entangled laminate webs of the present inventioncan be used as all or a portion of these side panels as well.

Consequently, such absorbent articles can have at least one layer, allor a portion of which, comprises the fluid entangled laminate web of thepresent invention. These and other modifications and variations to thepresent invention may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in theart, without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims.In addition, it should be understood the aspects of the variousembodiments may be interchanged either in whole or in part. Furthermore,those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoingdescription is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit theinvention so further described in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for forming a fluid-entangled laminateweb having projections comprising: providing a projection formingsurface defining a plurality of forming holes therein, said formingholes being spaced apart from one another and having land areastherebetween, said projection forming surface being capable of movementin a machine direction at a projection forming surface speed, providinga projection fluid entangling device having a plurality of projectionfluid jets capable of emitting a plurality of pressurized projectionfluid streams of entangling fluid from said plurality of projectionfluid jets in a direction towards said projection forming surface,providing a support layer, said support layer having an opposed firstsurface and a second surface, providing a nonwoven projection webcomprising fibers, said projection web having an opposed inner surfaceand an outer surface, feeding said projection web onto said projectionforming surface with said outer surface of said projection webpositioned adjacent said projection forming surface, feeding said secondsurface of said support layer onto said inner surface of said projectionweb, directing said plurality of pressurized projection fluid streams ofsaid entangling fluid from said plurality of projection fluid jets in adirection from said first surface of said support layer towards saidprojection forming surface to cause a) a first plurality of said fibersin said projection web in a vicinity of said forming holes in saidprojection forming surface to be directed into said forming holes toform a plurality of projections extending outwardly from said outersurface of said projection web, and b) a second plurality of said fibersin said projection web to become entangled with said support layer toform a laminate web, and removing said laminate web from said projectionforming surface.
 2. The process of claim 1 wherein said projectionforming surface comprises a texturizing drum.
 3. The process of claim 2wherein said land areas of said projection forming surface are not fluidpermeable to said entangling fluid.
 4. The process of claim 3 whereinsaid direction of said plurality pressurized projection fluid streamscauses the formation of projections which are hollow.
 5. The process ofclaim 3 wherein said projection web is fed onto said projection formingsurface at a speed that is greater than a speed said support layer isfed onto said projection web.
 6. The process of claim 1 wherein saiddirection of said plurality pressurized projection fluid streams causesthe formation of projections which are hollow.
 7. The process of claim 1wherein said projection web is fed onto said projection forming surfaceat a speed that is greater than a speed said support layer is fed ontosaid projection web.
 8. The process of claim 1 wherein said projectionweb is fed onto said projection forming surface at an overfeed ratio ofbetween about 10 and about 50 percent.
 9. The process of claim 1 whereinsaid support layer and said projection web are fed onto said projectionforming surface at a speed that is greater than said projection formingsurface speed.
 10. The process of claim 1 which further includessubjecting said fibers of said projections in said laminate web to abonding process to increase the fiber-to-fiber bonding of said fibers insaid projections.
 11. A process for forming a fluid-entangled laminateweb having hollow projections comprising: providing a lamination formingsurface which is permeable to fluids, said lamination forming surfacebeing capable of movement in a machine direction at a lamination formingsurface speed, providing a projection forming surface defining aplurality of forming holes therein, said forming holes being spacedapart from one another and having land areas therebetween, saidprojection forming surface being capable of movement in a machinedirection at a projection forming surface speed, providing a laminationfluid entangling device having a plurality of lamination fluid jetscapable of emitting a plurality of pressurized lamination fluid streamsof an entangling fluid from said lamination fluid jets in a directiontowards said lamination forming surface, providing a projection fluidentangling device having a plurality of projection fluid jets capable ofemitting a plurality of pressurized projection fluid streams of anentangling fluid from said projection fluid jets in a direction towardssaid projection forming surface, providing a support layer, said supportlayer having an opposed first surface and a second surface, providing anonwoven projection web comprising fibers, said projection web having anopposed inner surface and an outer surface, feeding said support layerand said projection web onto said lamination forming surface, directingsaid plurality of pressurized lamination fluid streams from saidplurality of lamination fluid jets into said support layer and saidprojection web to cause at least a portion of said fibers from saidprojection web to become entangled with said support layer to form alaminate web, feeding said laminate web onto said projection formingsurface with said outer surface of said projection web adjacent saidprojection forming surface, directing said plurality of pressurizedprojection fluid streams of said entangling fluid from said plurality ofprojection fluid jets into said laminate web in a direction from saidfirst surface of said support layer towards said projection formingsurface to cause a first plurality of said fibers in said projection webin a vicinity of said forming holes in said projection forming surfaceto be directed into said forming holes to form a plurality ofprojections extending outwardly from said outer surface of saidprojection web, and removing said laminate web from said projectionforming surface.
 12. The process of claim 11 wherein said support layeris fed onto said lamination forming surface with said first surfaceadjacent said lamination forming surface, said inner surface ofprojection web is fed onto said second surface of said support layer,and said plurality of pressurized lamination fluid streams are directedfrom said plurality of lamination fluid jets in a direction from saidouter surface of said projection web towards said lamination formingsurface to cause at least a portion of said fibers from said projectionweb to become entangled with said support layer to form a laminate web.13. The process of claim 12 wherein said projection web is fed onto saidsupport layer at a speed that is greater than a speed said support layeris fed onto said lamination forming surface.
 14. The process of claim 12which further includes subjecting said fibers of said projections insaid laminate web to a bonding process to increase the fiber-to-fiberbonding of said fibers in said projections.
 15. The process of claim 11wherein said projection forming surface comprises a texturizing drum.16. The process of claim 15 wherein said land areas of said projectionforming surface are not fluid permeable to said entangling fluid. 17.The process of claim 16 wherein said direction of said plurality ofprojection fluid streams causes the formation of projections which arehollow.
 18. The process of claim 16 wherein said projection web is fedonto said support layer at a speed that is greater than a speed saidsupport layer is fed onto said lamination forming surface.
 19. Theprocess of claim 11 wherein said direction of said plurality ofpressurized projection fluid streams causes the formation of projectionswhich are hollow.
 20. The process of claim 11 wherein said support layerand said projection web are fed onto said lamination forming surface ata speed that is greater than said lamination forming surface speed. 21.The process of claim 20 wherein said laminate is fed onto saidprojection forming surface at a speed that is greater than saidprojection forming surface speed.